
meet the team
DARREN DAILEY
President & Artistic Director
Darren Dailey came to Jacksonville in 2006 and since then has been shaping The Jacksonville Children’s Chorus into a world-class organization. Under his artistic leadership, The Chorus has grown to serve over 1,000 First Coast children annually with five core performance choirs, multiple satellite rehearsal locations, and outreach throughout the region.
A nationally recognized clinician and conductor, Mr. Dailey has served as guest conductor in Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center and the ACDA Honor Choir in Seattle. He has presented workshops for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, Organization of Kodály Educators, American Choral Directors Association, and Music Educators’ National Conference. As the founding artistic director of the Boston Children’s Chorus, Mr. Dailey and his chorus performed at the 2004 Democratic Convention, and appeared as the host chorus on the television special, “Raising the Roof: A Celebration of the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Song,” broadcast nationally on WGN, and performed internationally in Japan. He is the 2014 recipient of the Reinhold Foundation Outstanding Executive Director Award and currently serves on the Jacksonville University Linda Berry Stein College of Fine Arts Advisory Board. Mr. Dailey was honored in 2017 by Galaxy Music to create a Choral Series specifically for children’s voices.
Mr. Dailey has produced four recordings: “Come and Rejoice” (Cantate), “Sing!” (Boston Children’s Chorus) and “Voices for Voices” (Jacksonville Children’s Chorus). His work may also be heard on “A Boston Christmas” (Back Bay Chorale), “Building Bridges” (Mystic Chorale) and “Amani Celebration,” a limited-edition compact disc of holiday songs from 15 children’s choirs to benefit African children who have been orphaned because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
In 2019, Mr. Dailey was honored with the distinguished Alumni Merit Award by Westminster Choir College. In 2020, Chorus America presented Darren with the Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award. The Jacksonville Children's Chorus, under Darren Dailey's direction, achieved significant recognition in 2022, winning the American Prize for Choral Performance. Furthermore, in the same year, the ensemble was bestowed with the David C. Brotemarkle Award for their outstanding presentation of 'Songs of the Sunshine State.'
Mr. Dailey received a Bachelor of Music Education degree with a concentration in Voice from Westminster Choir College and a Master of Music Education in Choral Conducting from Appalachian State University’s Hayes School of Music.
ARTISTIC STAFF
Melissa Barnes
Primary, Training, & Intermezzo Choir Conductor
Katherine "KT" Boling
Choreographer
Susanne Dailey
Training Choir Conductor
Virtual Preschool Class Instructor
Marissa Dickerson
Virginia Dickert
Instructor
Sachiko Frampton
Collaborative Pianist
Rebecca Minor
Vocal Exploration Class & Voice Instructor
Shayla Nelson
Choral Fellow
Jessye Russom
Preschool Music Classes Instructor
Safiya Rahaman
Primary & Training Choir Conductor
Dr. Julie Myung Ok Song
Cantate Choir Conductor
Kaitlynn Tobias
Instructor
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Kiera Bates
Recruitment, Marketing, & Special Events Coordinator
Katherine “KT” Boling
Director of Operations
Joyanne Goronal
Business Coordinator
Sarah Leitch
Program & Volunteer Coordinator
Shayla Nelson
Marketing Intern
Dale Patrick
Program & IT Coordinator
Board Members
Vice President, Senior Account Executive at Marsh
Susana Cruz, Chair
Arend Dorsett, Treasurer
Sr. Operations Business Leader at Unison
VP Third-Party Risk & Associate Legal Counsel at Vystar Credit Union
Ryan Hesser, Secretary
Amanda Hegeman
Senior Counsel at Florida Blue
Allison Hollander
CEO at Hollander Poker
Jesse Shimp
Managing Director at JLL
John Thompson
Private Wealth Advisor/Owner Congruent Wealth
Advisory Board
Richard Hadden, Chair | Contented Cow Partners
Jackie Cornelius | Retired Principal, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
Marsha Oliver | The Players Championship
Craig Smith | Alhambra Theatre and Dining
Amanda Warford Videll | FBI Jacksonville Division
Join the JCC Team
We have positions available for administrative and artistic staff.
We can’t wait to meet you!